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THE AND THE OF ON THE ROAD TO GOD When Lam Minh Hua came with his family to the United States as a young boy, he carried with him one childhood memory of Vietnam: walking with his family to every Sunday. Lam Minh Hua says today, “I remember clearly; it was far, but we walked together every Sunday, no matter what.” The family settled in Tacoma, Washington, where Hua lived a normal American life. While in high school, Hua began helping out with the youth program in his parish. As high school was coming to a close, he happened to read a book about the Jesuit missionary Pierre-Jean de Smet. Hua began to feel a call toward mission work. His gave him a copy of Maryknoll magazine, and thus began his journey to the priesthood as a Maryknoll missioner. As a seminarian, Hua was sent to Tanzania in Africa, where he noticed that the villagers had to walk more than an hour to get to church, just as he and his family had done in Vietnam. Hua encouraged them to build their own village church so that the could come to them. They gathered wood and tarp and set up poles to raise the roof. Hua comments, “The beauty of this experience is that because I said, ‘OK, let’s do it,’ they were able to build that little outpost church. If I hadn’t gone out there, they would have had no one to say yes. That’s all they were waiting for. They were all ready.” Fr. Lam Minh Hua was ordained a Maryknoll priest on May 31, 2014. Through a convergence of his experience with three cultures—American, Vietnamese, and Tanzanian—he was able to help others to open themselves to God’s sacramental gifts. You will find him “on the road again,” bringing to all he meets.

(Based on Gabriela Romeri, “The Road to God,” Maryknoll, May/June 2014.)

1 FOCUS QUESTION

How does the Church REVEAL AND COMMUNICATE ’s saving work through the ?

Jesus Christ and the Introduction Sacramental Life of the Church

Section 1 The Church, the Universal Sacrament of Salvation

Section 2 The Sacraments Transform the Church and the World

Section 3 Breaking Open a Definition of the Sacraments Chapter OverviewChapter INTRODUCTION You have, by now, probably learned about at least some of the Seven Sacraments of the Church. Your learning Jesus Christ and the may have begun as far back as second grade, when you were preparing to celebrate First and Sacramental Life of First . In this course, your learning will go the Church deeper into the meaning of the sacraments, collec- tively and individually. In this chapter and the next, MAIN IDEA you will learn a definition ofsacrament and examine Jesus himself is the way to . He is the how Jesus Christ is himself the living, ever-present mystery of salvation and the living, ever-present of God. In fact, only in understanding the sacrament of God. sacramentality of Christ can you come to an under- standing of the meaning, signs, and effects of each of the Seven Sacraments. Jesus Christ, the Sacrament of God St. described the sacraments as “visible signs of invisible grace.” To understand the sacraments, you must think about making the invisible

sacraments Efficacious and visible signs of God’s grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The Seven Sacra- ments are , , Eucharist, Penance, , , and Matrimony.

NOTE TAKING Identifying Main Ideas. MAIN IDEA SUMMARY Create a two-column chart like the one here The Son of God was incarnate. to help you organize the Christ is the living, ever-present content in this section. sacrament of God. Fill in the second column The mysteries of Christ’s life are with further details. efficacious signs.

Chapter 1: The Church and the Sacramental Economy of Salvation 3 And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his , the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth. (Jn 1:14) Jesus Christ “assumed a human nature in order to accomplish our salvation in it” (CCC, 461). When Christ assumed a human nature, he did so without losing his divine nature. This union of Christ’s human nature and divine nature did not end with Christ’s Death or Resurrection; in fact, this union cannot

St. Anne, the mother of Mary, offers a blessing to the infant Jesus. be broken. Christ, now ascended to the Father, has ascended with the union of both natures in his Divine Person. The desire of the Son of God to be with you visible. This understanding can be facilitated by first remains strong today. Jesus longs to share your life, reflecting on the mystery of the Incarnation. both the tragedies and joys. The sacraments and lit- For example, consider the story of a young child urgy—known together as the sacramental econ- awoken by the sound of thunder who runs into her omy—are the means Christ uses to make himself and mother’s room and stands near the edge of her sleepy his saving graces present on earth. The sacramental mom’s bed. “Honey, you can go back to your room. economy is the way the fruits of Christ’s You aren’t alone. God is with you,” the mother gently are given to you in the Church’s through the tells her. work of the Blessed . “Mommy, I know God is with me,” the little girl says in return. “But I want someone with skin.” Jesus Christ, the Mystery The message of this story is that everyone wants to be near to the ones who know us, protect us, and most of Salvation of all, love us. That is why the Son of God, the Second Sacraments are mysteries that are so rich, so deep, Person of the Blessed Trinity, took on flesh and became and so profound that they cannot be easily captured a man. At a time in history chosen by God, the Son of or expressed in limited human language. Christ is a the Father became incarnate: mystery in this sense, too; human language and speech

Incarnation The act by which the Father sent his Son into liturgy The official public worship of the Church. The sacra- the world, and by the power of the , the Son came ments and the Divine Office constitute the Church’s liturgy. to exist as a man within the womb of Mary. The Son of God Mass is the most important liturgical celebration. assumed human nature and became man in order to accom- plish salvation for humanity in that same nature. Jesus sacramental economy The communication or dispensation Christ, the Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity, is of the fruits of Christ’s through the celebra- both true God and true man, not part God and part man. tion of the sacramental liturgy.

4 Meeting Jesus in the Sacraments are incapable of expressing completely the mystery of intellect and divine will. His human will “does not the Son of God, God’s Word made flesh. Jesus is truly resist or oppose but rather submits to his divine and human, like you in all ways, “yet without sin” (Heb almighty will” (CCC, 475). For example, because of the 4:15). Jesus is also truly divine, the Second Divine Per- union of his human and divine natures, in his human son of the Blessed Trinity—without beginning or end. nature Jesus is able both to make present his “intimate It is impossible to know how Jesus can be fully and immediate knowledge” of God the Father and to man yet fully divine at the same time. This mystery know the thoughts of humans. Christ “showed is known as the . This doctrine of the divine penetration he had into the secret thoughts , first expressed by St. (d. 444), of human hearts” (CCC, 473). teaches that in Jesus there are two divine natures—one Jesus is the living, ever-present sacrament of God human and the other divine—in one Divine Person. because he is the only Son of the Father, the eternal These natures are united in such a way that Jesus was Word made flesh. As the Son of God, Jesus is one of human like every human, except for the presence of the Three Divine Persons of the Blessed Trinity. He sin. He was born as a baby, grew as a child, experienced told his disciples the night before his Death, “Whoever adolescence, and finally became an adult. He needed has seen me has seen the Father. . . . I am in the Father to eat, sleep, drink, breathe, bathe, and learn—just as and the Father is in me” (Jn 14:9–10). God the Father’s any person does. He laughed, cried, and felt real pain. eternal being and love are manifested in the missions And because he had a real human body, he was subject of Christ and the Holy Spirit. to death. Throughout the , Jesus not only tells people It is important to always remember that Jesus never about God’s love, but he also personally manifests and ceased to be God when he became man. Being both makes that love present in his very Person. In fact, God and man, Jesus has a human intellect and human his humanity appeared as a “sacrament,” that will that is always perfectly in tune with his divine is, the sign and instrument of his divinity and of the salvation he brings: what was visible in THE IS NOT THE his earthly life leads to the invisible mystery FATHER SON of his divine sonship and redemptive mission. (CCC, 515) GOD For example, Jesus doesn’t just talk about water or use it as a sign of God’s love; rather, he himself is the source of the living water of eternal life: “Whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up THE to eternal life” (Jn 4:14). HOLY Jesus doesn’t just multiply bread as visible proof of SPIRIT God’s love. He himself is the living bread come down hypostatic union The doctrine of faith that recognizes from : “I am the living bread that came down two natures (one human and one divine) in the one from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; Divine Person of Jesus Christ. and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world” (Jn 6:51).

Chapter 1: The Church and the Sacramental Economy of Salvation 5 Likewise, Jesus doesn’t merely talk about light in present. “God is love” (1 Jn 4:8). In fact, Christ’s whole his parables as a way to explain the absence of dark- life—beginning with the mystery of the Incarnation ness (see Luke 11:33–36). He himself is God’s light to and culminating in the saving events of the Paschal a world darkened by sin: “I am the light of the world. Mystery—manifests God’s love to the world. These Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will mysteries of Christ’s life are efficacious signs of God’s have the light of life” (Jn 8:12). love. The word efficacious means “capable of producing TheCatechism of the Church teaches that a desired effect.” Sacraments, too, are efficacious but Christ himself is the mystery of salvation: “For there only due to Christ himself acting in and through them. is no other mystery of God, except Christ” (St. Augus- Christ established the Church on the foundation of tine, quoted in CCC, 774). To put it more simply, Jesus the Apostles (through the gift of the Holy Spirit) and himself is the only way to God the Father; he says, “I instituted the Seven Sacraments so that his Church am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes could administer them and he could be present to her to the Father except through me” (Jn 14:6). always. “God himself is an eternal exchange of love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and he has destined us Your Participation in to share in that exchange” (CCC, 221). Christ’s Mission Your participation in Christ’s mission is intended to bring you into communion with the Father, Son, These examples of words and actions from Jesus’ and Holy Spirit. Through the Seven Sacraments, the ministry on earth do not simply “point to” or “reveal” Church continues Christ’s work of perfectly wor- God’s love to the world. Jesus’ teaching and actions shipping the Father and of making redeeming grace are this love and saving grace in the world, personally available.

New Life in Christ Jesus came into the world to bring full, abundant life for all (see John 10:10). St. , a sec- ond-century who was killed for his faith, said it brilliantly: “The glory of God is the human person fully alive.” Think about it: God rejoices when you live a full, abundant life. God’s will is that you should live with him forever. The saving effect of the Paschal Mystery of Christ is a vibrant new life in the Blessed Trinity. You participate in this new life through the sacraments. The sacraments, in turn, empower you to share this new life with others. ASSIGNMENT Read the following Scripture passages. Summarize each as it pertains to the new life you receive in the sacraments and how you can share this new life with others. • similes of salt and light (Matthew 5:13–16) • parable of the mustard seed (Matthew 13:31–33) • parable of the weeds among the wheat (Matthew 13:24–30)

6 Meeting Jesus in the Sacraments SECTION ASSESSMENT NOTE TAKING Use the chart you created to help you answer the following questions. 1. Why did the Son of God assume a human nature? 2. What does it mean to say that Christ is the “living, ever-present sacrament of God”? 3. What does it mean to say that the mysteries of Christ’s life—beginning with the mystery of the Incarnation—are efficacious?

COMPREHENSION 4. Share an example from the Gospels of how Jesus witnessed that “God is love.”

VOCABULARY 5. Define hypostatic union. CRITICAL THINKING 6. How do the sacraments enable the Church to continue Christ’s work of perfectly wor- shipping the Father and of making redeeming grace available to humanity?

Chapter 1: The Church and the Sacramental Economy of Salvation 7 SECTION 1 the sacraments he instituted to communicate his grace to all. And, as the teaches, the sacraments The Church, the “are efficacious because in them Christ himself is at work; it is he who baptizes, he who acts in his sacra- Universal Sacrament ments in order to communicate the grace that each of Salvation sacrament signifies” (CCC, 1127). Understanding this can help you recognize that the Church is the “uni- MAIN IDEA versal sacrament of salvation” because Christ works The Church is the universal sacrament of salvation. through her. Thus she is the visible channel of grace to She makes the saving action of Jesus present to you the whole human race. The late Cardinal Joseph Ber- and completes his mission. nardin of Chicago once explained, “As Christ is the sac- rament of God—the visible and incarnate, efficacious and gratuitous bestowal of and life, so the Church is the sacrament of Christ in human history.” The Church makes Christ present in today’s world. An analogy can be drawn here to the relationship between the moon and the sun. Just as the moon has no light of its own but shines in the night sky because it reflects the light of the sun, the Church is a light to the world because she reflects the light of Christ.

The Church’s sacraments have meaning only in and NOTE TAKING through Jesus. All of the events of Jesus’ entire life Summarizing the Section. Create an out- and saving work become the sacrament of salvation, line like the one below in your notebook. “revealed and active in the Church’s sacraments” (CCC, As you read the section, use the outline to 774). Each sacrament is primarily and fundamentally a help you summarize the material. personal act of Christ himself acting through his Mys- I. The Church meets the definition of sacrament tical Body, the Church. Each sacrament is the saving A. As mystery: action of Christ in visible form; it is the act of Christ the B. As visible sign: High Priest who “entered once for all into the sanctu- C. As efficacious sign: ary, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his II. The Church completes the mission of Christ own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption” (Heb A. The Church as the 9:12). In the words of the Catechism of the Catholic B. Implications of this understanding Church, “it really is Christ who acts in the sacraments 1. Communion with Christ: through the Holy Spirit for the Church” (CCC, 1120). 2. Communion with the Church: 3. Communion with people through- Jesus continues to live and work in the Church, out the world: especially in the Seven Sacraments. He acts through

8 Meeting Jesus in the Sacraments She makes this light—the grace of salvation and new is a mystery. Second, it is a visible sign of the unseen life—available to all people. (invisible) divine . Third, a sacrament is aneffi - To consider further how the Church is the sacra- cacious sign—something that makes real what it signi- ment of Christ, think about how the Church herself fies. The Church also has these same three dimensions, meets the definition of sacrament. First, a sacrament explained in the following chart. THE CHURCH AS MYSTERY

St. Paul spoke of the Church as a great mystery—something that cannot be fully explained or understood (see Ephesians 5:32). For this reason, he and the other writers of the described the Church in symbolic language. They used images that would help people understand the Church as mystery. Some of the images for the Church found in the New Testament include a flock of sheep (see John 21:15–19), a cultivated field or vineyard (see John 15:1–10), the Bride of Christ (see Ephesians 5:25–27), and the (see Revelation 21:9–27). THE CHURCH AS VISIBLE SIGN The Church is the visible sign of Jesus Christ, whom we can no longer see in human form and who is the perfect sign of the Father’s saving love. In more detail:

The church is both human and divine, visible but endowed with invisible , zealous in action and dedicated to contemplation, present in the world, yet a migrant, so constituted that in it the human is directed toward and subordinated to the divine, the visible to the invisible, action to contemplation, and this present world to that city yet to come, the object of our quest (see Hebrews 13:14). (, 2) THE CHURCH AS EFFICACIOUS SIGN The power of the Church to effect what she signifies was given by Christ to Peter and the Apostles when he told them, “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 16:19) and “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Mt 18:18). He further promised them, “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Mt 28:20) and

“Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.” (Jn 14:12–14)

Because of the power Jesus gave her, “The Church, then, both contains and communicates the invisible grace she signifies” (CCC, 774). As Lumen Gentium (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church) explains, “The Church is in Christ like a sacrament or as a sign and instrument both of a very closely knit union with God and of the unity of the whole human race.” This was the reason the Fathers of the called the Church “the universal sacrament of salvation” (Lumen Gentium, 48).

Chapter 1: The Church and the Sacramental Economy of Salvation 9 As part of Christ’s Body, you need to spend time with other members to worship God and grow together in your faith.

The Church Completes the particular, you are united to Christ’s Death and Res- urrection. In the Eucharist, you share in the Body and Mission of Christ Blood of , strengthening the bond of charity The Church, the universal sacrament of salvation, com- between you and Christ while reinforcing the unity of pletes the mission of Christ. This mission is to bring the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ. Your par- Catholics into communion with the Three Divine ticipation in the sacraments helps you to live morally. Persons of the Blessed Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy When you are united to Christ, you are first and Spirit. It is Christ who pours out his Spirit among the foremost united to other members of the Body of members of his Church. “Through the Church’s sacra- Christ, the Church. This communion encompasses ments, Christ communicates his Holy and sanctifying all members of the Church, both living and dead—the Spirit to the members of his Body” (CCC, 739). Communion of . In addition, because you are When you respond in faith to God’s Word and united to Christ, you are also in communion with all become a member of Christ’s Body, you become other people throughout the world. intimately united with him. You are also united to other members of the Body of Christ and to people throughout the world. Through all the sacraments, you Communion of Saints The unity in Christ of all those he has redeemed: the Church on earth, in heaven, and in are “united in a hidden and real way to Christ in his . Passion and ” (CCC, 790). In Baptism, in

10 Meeting Jesus in the Sacraments Your Communion with Christ the Church” (CCC, 946). This statement has two mean- ings that help to explain how your membership in the Through your participation in the Church—and par- Church brings you into union with all who belong to ticularly due to the graces of the sacraments—you are the Body of Christ. in communion with Christ. The Catechism of the Cath- First, everyone in the Church shares a commu- olic Church describes the intimacy of this communion: nion in spiritual goods. Among these goods are the The comparison of the Church with the body following: casts light on the intimate bond between Christ and his Church. Not only is she gathered • Communion in the faith. The faith you share with other Catholics today is around him; she is united in him, in his body. the same faith inherited from the Apostles. (CCC, 789) • Communion of the [The Church] draws her life from the word sacraments. and the Body of Christ and so herself becomes The sacraments of the Church unite you to the Christ’s Body. (CCC, 752) Communion of Saints because they unite you to The Church . . . is the visible sign of the com- God in Christ. The term communion is applicable munion in Christ between God and men. to all of the sacraments, but it “is better suited to (CCC, 1071). the Eucharist than to any other, because it is pri- marily the Eucharist that brings this communion In his encyclical Redemptor Hominis ( about” (CCC, 950). of Man), Pope John Paul II (canonized by Pope Fran- • Communion of charisms. cis in 2014) wrote that communion with Christ is the A charism is a special gift, talent, or ability given to Church’s main purpose for existing—so that “each each Church member by the Holy Spirit. Charisms person may be able to find Christ, in order that Christ are intended to help build up the Church; they may walk with each person the path of life” (Redemptor are for the good of all. The Church collectively Hominis, 13). That is why the Church is “the sacrament shares the charisms her members have received of unity” (CCC, 1140). individually. You also encounter Christ and delve more deeply • Communion of goods. into a relationship with the Blessed Trinity when- The early held everything in common. ever you come together as Church. This means that So, too, “all Christians should be ready and eager when you celebrate the liturgy and when you do the to come to the help of the needy” (CCC, 952). things Christ did and in his name— to the • Communion in charity. sick, care for the needy, and show compassion to the Every act of charity performed by Catholics bene- stranger—you grow even more deeply in communion fits the entire Body of Christ. Every sin harms this with Christ. communion. Your Communion with the Church Second, there is a communion of all holy people— in the Church in heaven, the Church in Purgatory, and The Communion of Saints is defined as the “unity of the Church on earth. The saints in heaven intercede all the redeemed, those on earth and those who have for those who are living and for the dead who are still died” (CCC, Glossary). The Catechism of the Catholic being purified. The living can receive strength and aid Church also teaches that “the Communion of Saints is

Chapter 1: The Church and the Sacramental Economy of Salvation 11 from the saints in heaven, and living members of the world and communion with others that apply to the Church can pray for those who have died. “Our relationship of Catholics with other members of the for them is capable not only of helping them, but also Church, with others who believe in Christ, and finally of making their intercession for us effective” (CCC, with all of humankind who are called by God’s grace 958). to salvation. Your membership and participation in the Church The Church is joined, albeit imperfectly, to those highlights the diversity of gifts and talents given for who are baptized Christians but do not profess the the welfare of the Church, with love as the foremost Catholic faith in its entirety or have not remained gift. The unity of the Mystical Body of Christ is able to united under the pope. With Orthodox churches, the succeed over any human divisions. communion is profound and, in the words of Pope Paul VI, “lacks little to attain the fullness that would Your Communion with People permit a common celebration of the Lord’s Eucharist” throughout the World (quoted in CCC, 838). The Church is the universal sacrament of salvation. Non-Christians, too, are related to the Church The Church has a missionary mandate to proclaim in different ways. Jewish people hold a special place the to all peoples and to baptize in Christ’s of honor because Jews first received God’s covenant. name. “The ultimate purpose of mission is none other Because of a shared belief in one God, Muslims also than to make men share in the communion between are related to the Church. the Father and the Son in their Spirit of love” (CCC, The task to make all people disciples of Christ 850). Such unity can be understood by understanding and sharers in the communion of love of the Blessed , a mark of the Church. This mark has sev- Trinity is a missionary mandate directed by the Holy eral implications for a Catholic’s participation in the Spirit. God wills the salvation of all people through the knowledge of the truth. The task requires that mis- sionaries and all who witness live lives of penance, accept the Cross, and abide in a deep respect BUILDING for those who do not yet accept the Gospel. the Body of Christ Catholics must see all people as interconnected Read what St. Paul wrote about the Church as and part of the human family. Because God is the a body with many parts (1 Cor 12:14–26) and Father of all people, we must care about everyone as the Church as a community (Rom 12:9–18). we care about the members of our own families. If Then research information from Catholic Relief people in another part of the world are suffering from Services for ideas on how you can practically be famine, a natural disaster, or oppression, you and your a witness to the faith by serving others both in community suffer with them and try to help them. This and out of the . Write a proposal type of concern for others is called human solidarity. for your plan of service in this area. Incorporate a reference to some of St. Paul’s words into your plan. Make sure your plan can be started and well on the way to completion during the course of this semester. Put the plan into action.

12 Meeting Jesus in the Sacraments Remembering the Communion of Saints Make a prayer card as a reminder of the Communion of Saints. Cut an equilateral triangle out of construction paper or card stock. On the front at one corner, list one or more names of living people who are pilgrims with you in the journey of faith. In the second corner, list one or more names of people of faith who have died but are not canonized saints. In the third corner, list one or more names of saints in heaven to whom you have a particular attachment. Finally, put your own name in the center of the triangle. On the back, write your own prayer of com- munion with these people. Pray for their spiritual well-being, and also ask them to help you be a better Catholic.

SECTION ASSESSMENT NOTE TAKING Use the outline you created to help you answer the following questions. 1. How does the Church meet the definition of mystery as the term is applied to the sacraments? 2. In what ways is the Church a visible sign of the Father’s love? 3. How does the Church complete the mission of Christ?

COMPREHENSION 4. Explain how the Church shares a communion in charity.

VOCABULARY 5. Define Communion of Saints.

APPLICATION 6. Reflect on a special gift, or charism, the Holy Spirit has given you. Explain how you can use this charism in a way that benefits others and builds up the Church.

Chapter 1: The Church and the Sacramental Economy of Salvation 13 SECTION 2 As sacrament, the Church is the instrument Christ uses for the salvation of all people. As the universal The Sacraments sacrament of salvation, the Church makes the mystery Transform the of God’s love present to all. The Church “is the visible plan of God’s love Church and the World for humanity” because God desires “that the whole human race may become one People of MAIN IDEA God, form one Body of Christ, and be built up The Church is the instrument of God’s grace. into one temple of the Holy Spirit.” (CCC, 776, Members of the Church are called to participate quoting Pope Paul VI) in Christ’s mission as priest, prophet, and king. The Church, as the sacrament of Christ, has the power to transform the world. While the transformation has already begun, the Church is also a sign and an instru- ment of the unity that has yet to be realized. How does Christ use the Church as his instrument of salvation for all? At Baptism, you are incorporated into the Church and become a member of the Body of Christ. “The baptized have become ‘living stones’ to be ‘built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood’” (CCC, 1268, quoting 1 Pt 2:5). By becoming a member of the Church through Baptism, you receive the rights of a Christian, including the right to receive the other

NOTE TAKING Baptism Using a Concept Diagram. Create a diagram like the Matrimony Confirmation one to the right describing how Catholics are trans- formed through the grace of each of the sacraments. THE SACRAMENTS Then summarize how the Holy Orders Seven Sacraments shape Eucharist a Catholic’s mission to be priest, prophet, and king.

Anointing of the Sick Penance

14 Meeting Jesus in the Sacraments sacraments. You also are charged with the responsibil- “the rearing and education of their children” in the ity to profess the faith and share it with others as part faith (Lumen Gentium, 11). of the Church’s missionary mandate. As a member of the Church, you join in carry- The Second Vatican Council summarized how ing out the mission of Christ in today’s world. Just as Catholics deepen their participation in the Church Jesus had a threefold mission as priest, prophet, and through their participation in the sacraments. Here is king, so “the whole participates in these an overview of the Council’s statements on the sacra- three offices of Christ and bears the responsibilities for ments and how they impact you: mission and service that flow from them” (CCC, 783). • Baptism. Your faith and participation in this sac- Now consider how participating in the Church rament make you a member of the Church and helps you to participate in Christ’s mission as priest, the People of God. You are “reborn” as a son or prophet, and king. daughter of God (Lumen Gentium, 11). • Confirmation. Your identity as a Catholic is PRIEST strengthened. “The Holy Spirit endows you with • All the baptized share in the special strength” so that you may act as a true wit- priesthood of Christ. nesses of Christ, spreading and defending the faith (Lumen Gentium, 11). • You participate in Christ’s • Eucharist. “Strengthened in Holy Communion by priestly mission when you pro- the body of Christ, [you] manifest in a concrete vide spiritual support, such way that unity of the people of God which is suit- as through your , to ably signified and wondrously brought about” by another person. this sacrament (Lumen Gentium, 11). • Penance and Reconciliation. Every sin is not only an offense against God; it is also an offense against PROPHET the Church. Sin separates you from the Church. • A prophet witnesses to the This sacrament forgives sin and restores your unity Catholic faith and proclaims with God and with the Church (cf. Lumen Gen- God’s truth. tium, 11). • Being a prophet sometimes • Anointing of the Sick. This sacrament strengthens means you have to go against the sick and suffering members of the Church to the tide of public opinion. “contribute to the welfare of the whole people of God by associating themselves freely with the pas- sion and death of Christ” (Lumen Gentium, 11). KING • Holy Orders. This sacrament enables , • Jesus fulfilled his kingly mission , and to “feed the Church in Christ’s by dying for the sins of all. name with the word and the grace of God” (Lumen Gentium, 11). • You can participate in Christ’s • Matrimony. As a sign of oneness between Christ kingly mission when you put and the Church, this sacrament strengthens mar- the needs of others before your ried couples to help one another attain holiness in own needs. their lives together and to build up the Church by

Chapter 1: The Church and the Sacramental Economy of Salvation 15 Your Mission as Priest (a grace that heals your human nature, wounded by sin, and gives you a share in the divine life) and On the basis of your Baptism, you are to act as Christ. actual grace (divine help to perform some good You are to offer yourself to God in worship, become action you would not ordinarily be able to do on holy, and help others grow in holiness. Baptism makes your own, such as forgiving an enemy, avoiding a you a member of a holy priesthood. This common habitual sin, or remaining faithful to Jesus through priesthood differs from the hierarchical or ministerial torture or death). Grace is never something you “earn.” Your holiness is God’s wonderful and gen- priesthood of bishops and priests (see page 46). Duties erous gift to you. of the common priesthood include: • Helping others grow in holiness. In making you holy, • Spiritual to God. You have a responsi- the sacraments help to infuse the three theological bility and duty to worship God at all times and virtues into your life. They also help you form a in all places by your holy actions. “All [the ’s] community of faith, hope, and charity with others. works, prayers, and apostolic undertakings, family and married life, daily work, relaxation of mind and body, if they are accomplished in the Spirit— Your Mission as Prophet indeed, even the hardships of life if patiently While prophets can foretell and have foretold the born—all these become spiritual sacrifices accept- able to God through Jesus Christ” (CCC, 901). future, a prophet does more than just that. A prophet speaks God’s Word to others, witnesses to the truth • Personal holiness. Through the Church, God sanc- tifies your life, transforming you with his presence about Jesus Christ, and reminds people to persevere in and grace through the Holy Spirit. Grace is not a the true faith. As part of his of priest, particular thing or a quantifiable amount. Rather, prophet, and king, Jesus called people to repent of grace is a sharing in the actual life and love of the their sins and turn back to God’s covenant of love. As Trinity. You become holy because you are united a member of the Church, you share in the prophetic with God in grace. Each sacrament enables you to mission of Christ whenever you give witness to him share God’s life in a particular way. In other words, through your words, actions, or example. You also each sacrament gives a special grace. For example, act as prophet whenever you encourage others in the the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick brings you the healing dimension of God’s life and love. Church to persevere in faith despite times of discour- The and Reconciliation agement, disillusionment, and confusion. offers you the forgiving dimension of God’s life and Among the graces of the Church’s sacraments are love. All sacraments also dispense sanctifying grace those that inspire Catholics to greater discipleship, including enabling some to become evangelists—peo- ple who spread the message of Christ throughout the Three important virtues, first infused at Baptism, that enable Catholics to know God world. In effect, you become “God’s co-worker,” “God’s and lead them to union with him; they are faith (belief field,” and “God’s building” (1 Cor 3:9). You help pro- in, and personal knowledge of, God), hope (trust in God’s salvation and his bestowal of graces needed to attain it), claim the faith to others in the Church through discus- and charity (love of God and love of neighbor). Catholics sions, religious education classes, study groups, can also receive an increase in the theological virtues and the use of social media. Furthermore, you help through reception of the other sacraments and through the application of the theological virtues in their lives. proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to those out- side the Church by your every word and action.

16 Meeting Jesus in the Sacraments As a member of the universal church (see page 323), you are able to join with people from around the world in prayer and worship.

While ordained bishops and priests work as proph- do—whether it is working in a grocery store, express- ets mainly within the Church, the laity carry out their ing yourself on a social networking site, counseling a prophetic mission primarily outside the Church, in friend, competing in sports against a rival school, or the secular world—in neighborhoods, workplaces, talking with your parents—you can be Christ to others. shopping malls, schools, hospitals, and so forth. The As St. Augustine once said, “Let us rejoice then and Second Vatican Council clarified that laypeople have give thanks that we have become not only Christians, “the special vocation” to help build God’s Kingdom but Christ himself.” “by engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of God. . . . They are called by Your Royal Mission God to work for the of the world from Many people equate royalty with worldly power and within as a leaven” (Lumen Gentium, 31). riches. However, the true role of those in power is Think about it: Everywhere you go, you can bring to serve the people they are charged to protect and Christ’s presence and love to others. In everything you provide for. True royalty—as Jesus represented by his life—does not seek to be served but rather seeks to serve others, especially the poor and the suffering. laity All the unordained members of the Church who have been initiated into the Church through Baptism. Just as Jesus came “to bring glad tidings to the poor” (Lk 4:18) and “to seek and to save what was lost” (Lk

Chapter 1: The Church and the Sacramental Economy of Salvation 17 19:10), so you participate in his royal mission when- patience, understanding, and genuine caring—you are ever you work for justice and peace and serve others living your royal mission. in charity. You can participate in Christ’s mission as king by As sacrament, the Church brings the healing, forgiv- serving others individually, such as by showing care ing, and comforting love of God to all those in need. and compassion for a classmate or neighbor in need, When you involve yourself in the Church’s priestly, or as part of a Church ministry, such as the St. Vincent prophetic, and royal mission, you become—as the de Paul Society, a food pantry, or a ministry that serves Church—a sign and an instrument of Christ’s presence the elderly in your community. When you serve others in every part of today’s world. and seek to treat them as Christ would—with love,

SECTION ASSESSMENT NOTE TAKING Use the diagram you created to help you answer the following questions. 1. How is a person transformed through the graces of the Sacrament of Baptism? 2. How is a Catholic transformed through the Sacrament of Penance? 3. How can the sacraments help you live your mission as prophet? COMPREHENSION 4. Why is the mission to serve others known as a royal mission? 5. Describe the prophetic mission. REFLECTION 6. Choose either the prophetic mission or the royal mission, and write a paragraph explaining how you can more fully commit to living out that mission. Make your answer practical and specific.

18 Meeting Jesus in the Sacraments SECTION 3 In the remaining chapters of this text, you will explore the meaning, signs, and effects of each of the Seven Breaking Open a Sacraments. This primary definition of sacraments is taken Definition of the from the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Sacraments The sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the MAIN IDEA Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. In the sacraments, God freely dispenses his grace The visible by which the sacraments are to you and makes you a sharer in the divine life. celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required dis- positions. (CCC, 1131) This definition contains some complex and important ideas. The next sections break open the ideas. Sacraments Are Efficacious Signs of Grace St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that sacraments “have effi- cacy from the incarnate Word himself.” Recall that efficacious is a term that means “capable of produc- ing a desired effect.” The sacraments themselves are efficacious signs, meaning they effect, or bring about,

NOTE TAKING Forming Word Webs. Create efficacious sign of grace a word web for the definition of Sacrament. To make a word web, draw lines from the circle to key words and phrases that Definition of will help you understand the SACRAMENT meaning of the concept. Add as many lines as necessary. rooted in Jesus

Christ is present

Chapter 1: The Church and the Sacramental Economy of Salvation 19 what they signify and signify what they effect. As an the sinner, celebrated with his friends, and “efficacious sign of grace,” each sacrament confers a fed thousands with bread and fish and with his words grace that is proper to it and that comes from Christ. is present today in the Seven Sacraments. As St. Leo TheCatechism of the Catholic Church defines grace the Great put it, “What was visible in our Savior has as “free and undeserved help that God gives us” so that passed over to his sacraments.” we can respond to his call (CCC, 1996). Grace is “a participation in the life of God” (CCC, 1997). Sacraments Are It is important to understand that grace is not Commemorations of the some thing that is outside of the relationship you have with God. Rather, grace is the gift by which you par- Paschal Mystery ticipate in the life of the Blessed Trinity. Grace is, first The sacraments celebrate the Paschal Mystery— and foremost, the gift of God’s very own life, but grace the Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of also includes the ability God gives you to participate in, Christ—that brought about the salvation of human- and collaborate with, his work. As the Catechism of the kind. In each sacrament, the saving actions of teaches, “the fruits of the sacraments are made present. The way Christ dispenses the fruits also depend on the disposition of the one who receives of the Paschal Mystery until he comes again is the them” (CCC, 1128). sacramental economy. The term economy originates God gives you his grace in many ways and through from a Greek word that means “management of the many opportunities in your life. When they are cele- household.” The sacramental economy refers to the way brated “worthily in faith,” the Seven Sacraments “con- Christ cares for his household, the Church. fer the grace that they signify,” providing opportunities for encountering God the Father and , through the grace of the Holy Spirit (see CCC, 1127). Sacraments strengthen and deepen your relation- ship with Jesus, with the Church, and with all people throughout the world. They draw you into the wonder and completeness of the divine life. Sacraments Are Instituted by Christ The sacraments are rooted in Jesus and traceable to him. “Christ instituted the sacraments of the new law” (CCC, 1210). His ongoing presence in the Church through the gift of the Holy Spirit has helped the Church know and understand the Seven Sacraments as times when Christ is present with the Church in a special way. The same Jesus who in the efficacious St. Leo the Great signs of his earthly ministry healed the sick, forgave

20 Meeting Jesus in the Sacraments Of course, the actual historical events of the Pas- But even this definition falls short of what a sacrament chal Mystery occurred only once, but by the power truly is. You also need to realize that each sacrament of the Holy Spirit the liturgy makes the events truly fills you with grace and transforms you. Each sacra- present today. The Paschal Mystery brings a person ment works to make you completely whole and holy. into communion with the Blessed Trinity and with You grow in God’s likeness through your participa- Christ’s Body, the Church. Chapter 2 explores more tion in the sacraments. Each sacrament empowers you about how the Blessed Trinity works in the liturgy. to come alive in the Holy Spirit, so that your every thought and action can praise God and give witness Sacraments Are the to Christ’s saving power. Masterworks of God In summary, every sacrament has four aspects, or dimensions: In the sacraments, God really becomes present. No memorial—a remembering that God is created object, spoken word, or ritualized action can present now and has always acted for ever “force” God to be present. Nothing anyone says or 1 the benefit of all in the past; does can control what God himself says or does. Pour- ing water over someone’s head or saying certain words celebration—a Church-approved , doesn’t produce God “on demand.” Instead, God comes involving objects, words, and actions, to you in the sacraments because he has chosen these 2 that gives worship and thanks to God and times, places, and ways to be present. As for salvation in Christ; the Catechism of the Catholic Church simply and beau- communion—a real encounter of union tifully puts it, the sacraments are “the masterworks of with Christ, with members of the God” (CCC, 1116). 3 Church, and with people throughout A sacrament always involves a relationship the world; and between God and humanity. When you participate in a transformation—an empowerment to sacrament, God acts first, and then you act in response. become more holy and to minister to God takes the initiative of being present, of offering 4 others through the gift of God’s grace. you a share in his own life and love. You, in turn, open your heart to the divine, giving to God through your It is important to realize that these four aspects are worship and by accepting God’s Word as the truth on not like stages or steps. One does not necessarily hap- which to base your life. In other words, every sacra- pen before the other, nor is there any particular order. ment is an encounter with Christ, a dialogue, and a Rather, each sacrament—in its entirety—is a memo- two-way street. rial, a celebration, a communion, and a transformation This means that a sacrament is a visible sign that that must be understood through the sacramentality confers the grace that the liturgical of the sacra- of Christ, particularly through the mysteries of the ment signifies. When a sacrament is properly adminis- Incarnation and the hypostatic union. tered and celebrated worthily in faith, grace is received. Grace is necessary for salvation. Through the sacra- ments, God invites you to enter into communion with him and with all those who are celebrating with you.

Chapter 1: The Church and the Sacramental Economy of Salvation 21 Seven Sacraments? Why are there exactly Seven Sacraments in the Catholic Church? The simple answer is that Jesus instituted exactly seven. Take some time to read the following Gospel passages to discover how the sacraments are connected to Jesus’ ministry and how he met people in their time of need. Answer: 1. Which sacrament is each set of passages connected with? 2. What value(s) of Jesus appear in the passages? Gospel Passages • Matthew 9:35–38 and Matthew 28:16–20 • Luke 22:14–20 and John 6:47–58 • John 2:1–11 • Luke 12:8–12 and John 16:5–16 • Luke 7:36–50 and John 20:19–23 • Mark 1:40–45 and Mark 8:22–26 • Matthew 3:13–17 and John 3:3–8 Why Seven Sacraments? In the thirteenth century, St. Thomas Aquinas expanded on the simple answer and taught that human development is likewise marked by a similar seven stages. He thought that while it was not mandatory for Christ to institute exactly Seven Sacraments, it was reasonable because of the way human lives unfold: • You are born. (Baptism) • You grow. (Confirmation) • You are fed. (Eucharist) • You are healed. (Penance) • You recover. (Anointing of the Sick) • You need, and form, family. (Matrimony) • You need, and respond to, leaders. (Holy Orders) What do you think of St. Thomas’s reasoning?

22 Meeting Jesus in the Sacraments SECTION ASSESSMENT NOTE TAKING Use the word web you created for this section to help you complete the following items. 1. Name and explain four aspects, or dimensions, of the sacraments. 2. What are some words that show that the sacraments are traceable to Christ? COMPREHENSION 3. What does it mean to say that the Paschal Mystery is made present in the celebration of the sacraments? 4. TheCatechism of the Catholic Church describes the sacraments as “the masterworks of God” (CCC, 1116). Briefly explain what is meant by this phrase.

REFLECTION 5. Recall your participation in one of the sacraments. Write a paragraph describing any way you have noticed God’s grace transforming your life through a sacrament.

Chapter 1: The Church and the Sacramental Economy of Salvation 23 24 Meeting Jesus in the Sacraments CHAPTER REVIEW Section Summaries Focus Question essay is unfamiliar with Catholic the faith. questions you have that you answers can seek to throughout course. this Complete one of following: the the sacraments? andHow communicate the Church reveal does Christ’s saving work through of inand acting Christ through them. present to world. the sacraments, The too, are efficacioussigns, because but only humanityand sanctifying is an God efficaciousmakes Son The sign. God’s of love and Paschal the Mystery—are efficaciousGod’s signs of love. Christ’s entire holy and hypostatic union. The mysteries Christ’sof life—the Incarnation, his ministry, economy mental makesChrist himself known sacraments inthe and liturgy, known as sacra the the Church Jesus Christ and the Sacramental Lifeof INTRODUCTION (PAGES 3–7) Create a collage that creatively expresses how Church the reveals Christ’s communicates Christ’s saving work. Imagine that your audience for the Church and her on role Christ’s incarrying work of salvation. Thenwrite saving work to faithful the and to world. the Write athree-paragraph essay explaining how Church the reveals and Write summarizing entry ajournal what you have about learned the Write atwo- to three-paragraph describing how entry journal you have experienced God’sexperienced love through work the of Jesus Christ. . Christ is living the sacrament by of God virtue of his Incarnation - CHAPTER REVIEW Chapter 1: The Church and the Sacramental Economy of Salvation 25 . Write one or two paragraphs explaining your understanding of the the of understanding your explaining paragraphs two or one Write Tell two concrete ways you can profess and share your faith in Christ faith your share and profess can you ways concrete two Tell meaning of the phrase “they effect what theyto signify” it effectpertains as what “they the phrase of meaning with others. with Write a two-paragraph summary that supports the statement that the that the statement supports summary that a two-paragraph Write Catechism of the Catholic Church Catholic the of the Catechism of 1089 1088 and Readparagraphs The sacraments are efficacious signs, meaning they effect what meaning effect they they signify and signs, efficacious are The sacraments Church, entrusted tothe and by Christ instituted signify are they They effect. what us. dispensed is to life them divine through and the sacraments. the right to receive the other sacraments. You are also charged to profess your faith faith your profess to also charged are You sacraments. the other receive to the right others. with the faith share and 19–23) 3 (PAGES SECTION the of a Definition Open Breaking Sacraments Church “makes the saving actions of the Risen Christ present to us.” to the Risen Christ present of actions the saving “makes Church 14–18) 2 (PAGES SECTION and Church the Transform Sacraments The World the facilitate and Christ uses offer to the is instrument the Church sacrament, As a you makes and the Church into you incorporates Baptism of salvation. the gift of a including Christian, the rights you the Body Christ. This of gives member of In the Church, especially in her sacraments, Jesus continues to live and work among among work and live to continues Jesus especially sacraments, her in the Church, In sign an efficacious and of salvation” sacrament “universal is the The Church us. through you to the Risen Christ present of actions the saving makes because she of is Christ, which mission the completes The Church Spirit. the Holy of the work the Blessed Trinity. with communion into the Church bring to SECTION 1 (PAGES 8–13) 1 (PAGES SECTION of Sacrament Universal the Church, The Salvation 26 Meeting Jesus in the Sacraments CHAPTER REVIEW ninety-minute session. The plan should includethe following elements: Church reveal and communicate Christ’s saving work through sacraments?—by the end the of a not attend Catholic are school high able to answer chapter’s the Focus Question—How the does 2. Developing aLesson Plan your music selections, give your atitle. Create medley suitable cover or art acover slide, ifpossible. themes include following: the themes covered chapter. inthis Your compilation should include at songs. least seven Suggested 1. Creating aMusical Collection materialthe chapter. inthis and completeChoose at least one of following the three assignments assessing your understanding of Chapter Assignments • • • • For Catholic hymns, check index the of aparish or school hymnal for titles. After you have made • • • • • Develop alesson plan that for used can be teaching main the content of chapter this to agroup Using contemporary music, Christian liturgical hymns, or other music with suitable themes, in aparish youth setting. The object the lessonof ministry plan is to make sure who teens do create amusic (e.g., audio the medley YouTube) portion via that connects to, or supports, the the teens’the understanding of material the five test items differentseveral (in formats) thatused be can the at end session the of to assess another of akey part material the one suggestion for a small-group activity to help teens reflect on, respond to, or teach one minister to teens the a succinct one-page script that summarizes chapter the and that read could by be ayouth an icebreaker session the to that begin has aconnection with sacraments the one or more of individual the sacraments your mission as priest, prophet, and king (orone specifically titles) these of Churchthe of Christ as Body the Churchthe as instrument the of salvation Jesus as Way the to Father the CHAPTER REVIEW Chapter 1: The Church and the Sacramental Economy of Salvation 27 . You can find find the can . You strengthened your understanding of of understanding your strengthened . Include at least five quotations from from quotations five least at . Include Lumen Council document Gentium the Second Vatican of

chapter 1 chapter

document on the Vatican website. Write a two- or three-page essay summarizing the mystery summarizing essay three-page or a two- Write website. the Vatican on document Read

explaining how your reading of chapter 1 of Lumen of 1 Gentium chapter of reading your how explaining text. your of learned in this chapter you what of the Church as explained in this chapter of Lumen of Gentium in this chapter explained as the Church of by essay your Conclude the quotations. for citations proper provide and essay, in your the document 3. Understanding Primary Sources Primary Understanding 3. 28 Meeting Jesus in the Sacraments CHAPTER REVIEW God the Father the God through and Son the Holy the Spirit is present inthem: Poland. At only age he was thirty-eight named abishop, and he later attended Vatican Second the Council. ended. After , Karol parish as a Wojtylapriest served and chaplain for university students in he studied “underground”in a secret seminary. He was ordained a priest in1946,just after World War II a student. He was forced then to work and later inaquarry inachemical plant. apriest, to Deciding be neither nor easy simple. When World War Nazis II the began, university the closed where Karol had been twenty-seven years. Wojtyla, and he took name the John Paul II.His papal reign was third the longest nearly inhistory: world the surprised they pope, bya new first the electing Polishpope inhistory. His name was Karol In 1978, afterthe short reign of Pope John CollegePaulthewhen Cardinals I, of gathered again to elect Pope John Paul IIgives Communion to people attending open-air Mass at the People’s Stadium in Kinshasa, Zaire, on August 15,1985. St. John Paul II Faithful Disciple Pope John Paul IIfrequently expressed his love of sacraments. the He explained how mission the of As ayoung man growing up inPoland, Karol Wojtyla followed that aroad to priesthood the was Christ who absolves; who Christ Church the when celebrates Eucharist, the it celebrates who is Christ When Church the baptizes, it baptizes; is who Christ Church the when absolves, it is What are else sacraments the of (all ifnot them!), action of the Holy inthe Christ Spirit? CHAPTER REVIEW Chapter 1: The Church and the Sacramental Economy of Salvation 29 it: “This is my body.” And so on. All the sacraments are an action of Christ, the action of of action Christ, the action an are on. All And so the sacraments my “Thisbody.” it: is ) Hope of Threshold the God in Christ. (Crossing Writing Task Writing Reading Comprehension Reading expressing what it means for you. for means it what expressing Choose one sentence from St. John Paul II’s quotation on the sacraments, and write a paragraph paragraph a write and the sacraments, on quotation II’s Paul John St. from sentence Choose one What was one surprising fact about the election of Karol Wojtyla? Karol the of election fact about surprising one was What II. War World during held Wojtyla Karol that jobs two Name acts in the sacraments? always Who Pope John Paul II died on April 2, 2005. At his Mass, many in the vast crowd outside St. Peter’s Peter’s St. outside crowd the in vast many funeral his Mass, At 2005. 2, April died II on Paul John Pope • 1. 2. 3. Basilica took up the chant “Magnus, Magnus, Magnus,” meaning “Great, Great, Great.” It was a public a public was It Great.” Great, “Great, meaning Magnus,” Magnus, “Magnus, the chant Basilica up took be should and the Great” Paul John “Pope the title be given II should Paul John Pope that proclamation new in the usher century whilehelping in twentieth the influence great who had a man as remembered Paulwas II John Pope significantly, more Even stillis used This title millennium. to describe today. him 2014. in April Francis Pope by canonized 30 Meeting Jesus in the Sacraments CHAPTER REVIEW the Churchthe contains “both and communicates invisible the she grace signifies” (CCC people and way the continues Christ inwhich his work to bring about salvation the of humanity. Because sacramentalthe economy, way the in which Church the brings Christ’s living and real presence to all Church inthe acts Christ them, personwhoeach with grace his to receivessacraments. fill the Thisis present sacraments inthe are they when conferred by an ordained minister of Church. the Through to Church. the “Christ lives and inand acts with his Church” (CCC child of God. with every your interior prayer; instead, strengthen they and nourish it. They affirm youridentity and your unity Paschal Mystery by redeemed Christ world. which the These words and signs don’t replace or diminish profound ways. ing words the of sacramental rituals spoken aloud, yourself, and them speaking can transform you in things you can feel, smell, taste, see, and touch: water, , bread, oil, and laying the on of hands. Hear sacraments bring you to closer him.Sacraments give you apoint of contact with God’s through grace in a uniquelyGod powerful, grace-giving way. Far from blocking your of individual experience God, full much more than simply celebrations of significant life moments. sacraments,the In youcan encounter for example, Baptism shortly afterConfirmation or birth during adolescence. However, sacraments are You may associate celebration the of sacraments with commemoration the of age certain markers inlife; and apriest? without signs, set prayers, or the help of the Church in aperson’s life?And why not just approach God sacraments just celebrations to mark significant times Why do we need sacraments at all?Aren’t the Explaining the Faith grace ofgrace Christ—you are able to access directly his sacraments. inthe grace This is true notThistrue is becausejust the of words theandthemselves signs butbecause their connectionof Sacraments proclaim and celebrate mysteries the professed Apostles’ inthe the , especially , 1076). That meanstruly Christ is , 774)—that is, the - CHAPTER REVIEW Chapter 1: The Church and the Sacramental Economy of Salvation 31 - . Write a one-paragraph sum a one-paragraph . Write 776)? Further Research Further CCC, Catechism of the Catholic Church Catholic the of the Catechism of 776 to 774 Read paragraphs saving Christ’s to connected the sacraments are How questions: thefollowing maryanswering humanity” for love of God’s plan “the visible into figure do the sacraments earth? How on work ( Of course, all people can always pray directly to God. The prayers we say in the silence of our hearts our of in silence the we say prayers God. to directly The pray always all can people Of course, • are of irreplaceable value. However, Christ gave us the Church to teach and enrich us with his grace. He He grace. his with us enrich and teach to the Church us Christ gave However, value. irreplaceable of are in life. Christian irreplaceable are The sacraments salvation. our for the sacraments us gave 32 Meeting Jesus in the Sacraments CHAPTER REVIEW without me you can donothing” (Jn 15:4–5 ). Lord, you said, “Remain in me, as Iremain in you . . because Jesus, Abide inMe Prayer society and abettersociety world. generate through me amore just myLet of experience your love through your Death and Resurrection. certainty that Ihave liberated been truly Make me amessenger of the and embrace your truth. Teach me to accept your freedom Show me that you alone can fill my heart. profess that Iam your disciple. Give me strength the to go out and Lord Jesus, reveal yourself to me. —based on aprayer—based by St. John Paul II